Label or stamp affixing machine



April 24, 1951 J. R. SPERRY 2,550,307

LABEL OR STAMP AFFIXING MACHINE Filed July 21, 1949 IN VEN TOR.

JOHN R SPE'PRV ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 24, 1 951 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE This invention relates to dispensing machines of the type thatsuccessively detach the end portions of a strip and more particularly tosuch machines which aiiix the detached portions to articles therefor.

It is known to provide rolled strips of labels, specifically postagestamps, from which strip the end stamp can be pulled off manually whenneeded for use. The usual perforation lines utilized in pulling off thestamps can be utilized also in an eificient machine for this purpose, toaid and demarcate the severance line. Such lines can also be ofassistance in feeding the strip in such a machine.

It is an object of my invention to provide a machine which will dispenseindividual stamps or labels by detaching the same from a strip.

It is a further object to effect the detachment of the end portion orstamp by separately clamping the said 'end portion and the adjacentportion of the strip and pulling the two portions apart while clamped bymoving the clamps relatively.

It is a further object to utilize the clamping action on said endportion to affix the same to an article, such as an envelope.

The foregoing and other objects and the invention itself will be betterunderstood from the following description of one embodiment thereof,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of one form of the invention Figure 2 is aright end view of Figure 1, looking to the left;

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view in detail of the feed carriage;and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view of a modification.

Referring to Figures l-3, I is the panel upon which the working partsare mounted having a suitable supporting base. Mounted in suitablebearings 2, 3 is the horizontal shaft 4 with the operating crank 5 onone end and bevel gear 6 on the other. Near the crank end on shaft 4 arefastened two cams l and 8 which, during rotation, pass into an openingcut into the panel. These cams act to depress the upwardly extendingclamping plunger rods 9 and I0 carrying the presser feet II and 12.These plunger rods are mounted in guides l3 and i4 and are urgedupwardly by springs I5 engaging collars fastened to the rods and actingagainst lower plungers on the guides.

In vertical alignment with plungers 9 and I0 and their presser feet, butnormally spaced therefrom are plunger rods and their receiving supportsl6 and H respectively similar to the elements above them but havingstronger springs 18 and stop nuts I9 to adjust the spring tension andlimit the upward projection of the plungers.

A guide trough 20 for the tape and feed carriage 2| is fastened to thepanel as shown in Figures 1 and 3 and is provided with guide grooves 22for the carriage. This carriage may be of any suitable design for guidedmovement but is shown as a plate with side edges in the trough grooves22 and having upwardly extending ears 23 in which a rod 24 is mountedhaving loosely mounted thereon a series of narrow spaced jowls or dogs25. These dogs are one-way acting and act only to advance the tape fromleft to right, and preferably are so numbered and designed that a numberof them will engage perforations in the tape and advance the tape adefinite amount for each advanc movement of the feed carriage. Ofcourse, springy fingers could be substituted for these dogs.

For operating the carriage I have provided vertical shaft 26 mounted inbearings 21 on panel I having a bevel gear 28 engaging the companiongear 6 on shaft 4. shaft 26 is secured crank arm 2Q having pin 30 withhead 3| secured thereto and engaging and sliding freely in a slot 32 inthe left hand end of pitman 33, the other end of the pitman looselyengaging a pin 34 fastened to the carriage. The stamp roll 35 is mountedon arm 36 fastened at 31 to the panel.

The operation is as follows:

The end of the tape is fed into the trough with the adhesive surfacedown and the feed dogs resting on top until a line of perforations is infront of the dogs. An envelope with the upper corner moistened isinserted into the position indicated at 38 in Figure 1. Attention iscalled to the notch 39 in receiver support It whereby the stamp can beafiixed so as to be spaced from outlines of the envelope if so desired.

With the envelope held in this position, the operating crank is turnedin the proper direction. The cams and crank 5 are so arranged thatduring the initial operation the strip advances the end stamp betweenthe plunger foot l2 and the receiver support l1. In this position,because of slot 32 in pitman 33, there will be a dwell in the movementof the carriage until the two end stamps are clamped by the respectiveclamping plungers, whereupon the carriage is returned to the leftWithout any possibility of dragging the tape backward. Continuedmovement of the On the lower end of 3 crank will move the clampingpresser feet l2 and receiver support I! as a unit further downwardlyagainst the action of the lower, stronger plunger springs therebysimultaneously severing the end stamp and applying it to the envelope.

The upper pair of plunger rods now ride off the high point of their camsand are spring returned to their upper or open position, ready foranother operation.

In the modification (Figure 4) the upper clamping plungers are pulleddown against the action of their springs by solenoids 35 and 36 and thecarriage is moved to the right against its spring 31 by solenoid 38. Twoswitches 39 and 40 respectively are arranged in series in the circuit ofsolenoid 38, the former bein normally spring-biassed open, the latternormally springbiassed closed. Arranged in circuit of solenoids 35 and36 are two switches 4| and t2 in'series respectively, switch 41'spring-biassed open and switch 4| spring-biassed closed. The arrange-.

ment is such that an envelope moistened as above is inserted betweenplungers as in the first modification and in this position it closesswitch 39 thereby energizing solenoid 38 which attracts iron core 53 andadvances the strip to the right. Upon the end of this movement, theprojection 44 moving with the core closes switch ii, whereupon solenoids35, 36 are energized and attract the respective plunger iron coresections downwardly against the action of their springs. At the end ofthe downward movement of the left hand plunger, arm 45 mounted to movewith this plunger opens switch 45 de-energizing solenoid 38 and spring31 returns the feed carriage while the tape is still clamped. Thesolenoids 35, 36 and plungers are so designed and arranged that theright hand plunger pair continue their downward movement, detaching theend stamp and applying the same to'the envelope. At the end of the downmovement of this right hand pair, the arm 46 opens switch 42 wherebysolenoids 35, 36 are de-energized and all four plungers are springreturned to normal position.

If the machine is to be used as affixer, any conventional moistener asshown at 4T (figure 2) may be used so placed as to moisten the envelopeas the latter is inserted.- Obviously, also in place of crank 5 tooperate shaft 5, other suitable means may be usedfor example, a rack-barand pinion. Also, it is obvious that the machine can be used as a meredispenser and if desired any conventional coin-control arrangement forcontrolling the operation of shaft'ii can be added. Various other minorchanges may be-made in the described embodiment without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for detaching successively the end portions of amaterial strip, a first device for receiving and clamping an endportion, a second device for receiving and clamping said strip adjacentsaid end portion, means positioning the strip for said clamping, andmeans for moving said devices in their entirety relativel duringclamping to sever said end portion.

2. A mechanism according to claim 1, including driving meanssynchronized to actuate the positioning means, and the clamping devicesand their relative movement in entirety in succession, and torestorethem for another operation.

3. A machine according to claim 2, wherein said driving means aremechanical and include respective cam mechanisms for actuating andtiming said devices and a cyclically stroking element for actuating andrestoring said positioning means.

4. A machine according to claim 2, wherein said driving means includeelectromagnets for actuating said devices and said positioning means,energizing circuit means for said electromagnets and circuit switchesfor initiating and timing the actuation, said switches after theinitiating of the actuation being each controlled by the previousactuation.

5. A machine according to claim 4, wherein the device clamping the endportion of said strip operates to affix said end portion to a carrier,and wherein the circuit switch for initiating electro- Inagnet actuationis controlled by the inserting or the carrier into a clamping device.

6. A machine according to claim 4, wherein the circuit switch forcontrolling the electromagnets for actuating the clamping devices isactuated by the positioning means near the end of its forward stroke,and wherein means actuated by said clamping devices upon their operationopens the circuit of the positioning means electromagnet.

'7. In a machine for affixing to a article a label while attached toanother label, comprising a device for receiving and clamping togetherthe first-mentioned label and the article, a second device for receivingand clamping the other label, and means to move said clamps in theirentirety relatively to sever the labels.

8. In a machine according to claim '7, wherein the two labels areattached along'a' perforated line, and the said clamps are soconstructed and positioned that their adjacent clamping edges sever thelabel along said line.

9. In a machine for detaching successively the end portions or amaterial strip, a first device for receiving and clamping: an endportion, a second device for receiving and clamping said strip adjacentsaid end portion, means positioning the strip for said clamping, andmeans for moving said devices relatively during clamping to sever saidend portion, said clamping devices each comprising two members, onebeing a yie'ldable support and the other a driven member, and saidmoving means comprising means-for driving said driven members to effecttheir clamping and moving operations.

JOHN R; SPERRY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,161,850 Dixon Nov. 30,- 19151,203,932 Straight Nov. 7, 1916 2,070,310- Ostler Feb. 9, 1937 2,127,897Watkins -1 Aug. 23, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 21,274Great Britain Sept: 21, 1914

